Posts tagged ‘free-standing hospital’

When Terry Achey started at Penn State Hershey thirty-four years ago, it was hard for anyone to imagine how much it would grow. There was no Penn State Hershey Cancer Institute, no freestanding children’s hospital, not even a dedicated building for the facilities department. But over the past three decades, Achey has a hand in many of the projects that have helped grow Penn State Hershey into a world-class institution.

“Terry really loves this place and he treated the facilities like they were his own home,” says Wayne Zolko, associate vice president for finance and business, who worked closely with Achey for almost twenty years. “It wasn’t just a job for Terry, he really believed in our mission. Both his love of the Medical Center and his knowledge of our facilities from the ground up, having worked in a lot of different areas, gave him an appreciation for the work that had to be done.”

“I looked at this as a place I wanted to work at for a very long time, but I didn’t have aspirations to become director,” Achey says.

He retired on January 2 as director of facilities—a position he held for the past twelve years—where he was responsible for building maintenance and operations, planning and construction, project management, CADD services, and safety. Achey left an indelible print on many facets of Penn State Hershey, but one of the projects he’s most proud of was the work he contributed to the ten-year Master Plan.

The two milestones of the 10-year plan were the Cancer Institute and the Children’s Hospital, both of which took years of planning.

“Being able to work along with the leadership team that has shaped the physical and programmatic growth of the campus over the past 30-plus years has been extremely rewarding,” Achey says. “I have the upmost respect for the professional staff and faculty on our campus and I’ve always felt that our town, our region, is very fortunate to have a world-class resource serving our population and providing a major economic impact.” (more…)

Patients at Penn State Hershey Children’s Hospital will soon have even more opportunity to play and learn thanks to the continuous generosity of the PNC Foundation, which receives its principal funding from The PNC Financial Services Group, Inc.

The freestanding Children’s Hospital is the latest and boldest addition to the campus, and PNC wanted to be a significant partner in seeing it through to fruition. With a $1 million contribution to the Medical Center in 2005 toward the construction of the new children’s hospital building, the PNC Child and Family Resource Center was designated to provide a place for the Injury Prevention Program to educate children and families about child safety as well as distribute PNC Grow Up Great educational materials. Developed with Sesame Workshop, the educational kit and other materials helps prepare children, from birth to age five, to arrive at school ready to learn. (more…)

Early children’s hospitals were places to keep sick kids comfortable, administer medicine, and take vital signs. There wasn’t a lot of hands-on healing happening. Instead, the main duty of the first hospitals was to simply provide a clean, quiet space where these young patients weren’t exposed to outside germs and contaminants. Seen as a potential source of infection, parents and siblings were sent home when visiting hours ended, if they were allowed to visit at all.

Patients from the early days wouldn’t even recognize the soon-to-be constructed Penn State Hershey Children’s Hospital as part of the same category. Care for the smallest patients has evolved into high-tech treatments and life-saving procedures, while considering the patient’s emotional and physical health. Hands-on treatment and state-of-the-art technology have been used at the Children’s Hospital for years, but it all will unite under one roof to make the stay easier for patients.(more…)

A new era in pediatric medicine began for Penn State Hershey Children’s Hospital, as ground was broken for the new, freestanding building on November 13, 2009. The five-story, 252,000 square foot facility is scheduled to open in 2012.

More than 400 guests, including children and families; Children’s Hospital physicians, nurses, and staff; board members; donors; students; academic and health care partners; and government and community representatives, gathered on the site of the future facility to commemorate the groundbreaking.

The program featured, a Cirque du Soleil-inspired show, and a line-up of speakers that represented a few of the many constituent groups who helped make the new facility possible.

“This groundbreaking marks the start of a new era in health care,” said Edward P. Junker, III, former chair, Penn State Hershey Board of Directors, “and I thank each of you for your commitment to the children and families of central Pennsylvania.”

Children who have received treatment at Children’s Hospital also spoke about their experiences. Nine-year-old Joey Setlock, diagnosed in 2006 with Burkitt’s lymphoma, shared his excitement about the new facility. “I’m glad there will be a new hospital designed with kids in mind, with play spaces filled with lots of games, books, crafts, and movies. It will help kids like me get better faster.” (more…)